Clasp.



No. 819,534. PATBNTED MAY 1, 1906. H. G. FRANK. CLASP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.29,1905.

UNITED STATES PATEN oEEIoE.

HENRY C. FRANK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. CLASP. I I

Specification of Letters Patent.

1?atented May 1, 1906.

Application filed August 29. 1905. Serial No. 276,211.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY O. FRANK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, in the city and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clasps, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a clasp in which the two jaws, which are hinged together, are provided with rearward extensions having abutments formed therein for preventing the fingers of the person operating the clasp from slipping oil the clasp.

Afurther object is to provide a clasp of the above character in which the parts are so arranged that a very wide opening of the jaws may be obtained, the abutments in the jaw extensions also being so arranged-as not to catch in the clothing in connection with which the clasp is used and tend to tear the same.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents the clasp in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section taken in the plane of the line A A of Fig. 2, and Fig.

4 is a side elevation of the clasp having a modified form of jaw extension for producing another shaped finger-retaining abutment.

The clasp comprises outer and inner plates 1 and 2, extended forwardly to form jaws 3 I and 4 and rearwardly to form finger-engaging extensions 5 and 6. These plates are provided with the usual overlapping ears 7 and 8, through which a pintle 9 extends for hinging the jaws together. The jaws are yieldingly held closed by means of a spring 10, coiled around the pintle 9. One of the jaws, in the present instance the jaw 4, is provided with a plain-faced yielding disk 11 such, for instance, as rubber-and the other jaw 3 is provided with a plurality of lugs 12, struck from the metal of the jaw, in position to be forced into the smooth face of the disk by. the spring 10.

The disk 11 is herein shown as being held in position by bending the periphery of the jaw 4 inwardly, as shown at 13, and also by prongs 14, projecting from the said jaw 4. The periphery of the jaw 3 is preferably bent hinged together, t

inwardly, as shown at 15, to form a lip which will overlap the edges of the disk 11 andprevent the disk from spreading when the clasp s closed. To produce a neat and effective oinder of the two jaws when closed, I bring the faces of the jaws into close proximity and parallel with each other by providing the jaw-plates with inwardly-bent portions 16 17.

To prevent the fingers from slipping off the finger extensions 5 and 6 of the jaws, I provide said finger extensions with abutments 18 19, respectively, which are formed by bending the metal of the extension first outwardly and then inwardly. These bends are made very pronounced, so as to form transverse lugs or projections, which projections may be of rounded form, as shown in the first three figure's, or of angular form, as shown in Fig. 4. By leaving these finger extensions with inwardly-turned ends, as shown, it will be seen that the clasp will not be caught in the clothes in connection with which the clasp is worn, and thus tend to tear the same, as wouldbe the case where these ends flare outwardly away from each other. Furthermore, by the formation of these abutments as herein described I am enabled to produce a clasp which will permit of a very wide separation of the jaws when the clasp is open. 7

What I claim as my invention is- 1. A clasp comprising two jaw plates hinged together, the said jaw-plates being extended forwardly to form the jaws and extended rearwardly to form finger extensions, the rear ends of the said finger extensions being bent to form transverse lugs or projections for preventing the fingers of the person operating the clasp from slipping off the clasp.

2. A clasp comprising two jaw-plates hinged together, the said jaw-plates being extended forwardly and inwardly and thence forwardly parallel with each other to form the jaws, the said lates being furthermore extended rearwardlj to form finger extensions, the rear ends of the said finger extensions being bent to form transverse In S or projections for preventing the fingers o the person operating the clasp fromslipping ofi the clasp.

3. A clasp comprising two jaw-plates e said jaw-plates being extended rearwardly to form finger extenmy invention I have signed my name, in pressions and forwardly to form jaws, one jaw ence of two witnesses, this 24th day of Aubeing provided with a smooth-faced yieldin gust, 1904. disk and the other jaw with a lural-ity o HENRY C. FRANK. 5 teeth struck inwardly from the ody of the Witnesses:

jaw arranged to ooaot with the said disk.

FREDK. HAYNES, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as HENRY THIEME. 

